This show was webcast via LivePhish. Trey teased San-Ho-Zay during Weekapaug and teased Crosseyed during Steam, Piper, Light, First Tube and Walls of the Cave. Piper featured a Fishman-driven improvisation with Trey on Marimba Lumina and Mike and Page on percussion. Piper, Light, First Tube, and Walls of the Cave also included Crosseyed quotes.

Show Reviews

What a long strange year it has been for our boys from Vermont. After the banner jamming year of 2015, expectations from many hinged on a path similar to the year before. Of course, the only thing we should expect is change. The band finished their new album while focusing their shows on laser sharp execution of their deep songbook, (Did you find any rust in 7-20-16's incredible first set?) introducing new material sporadically throughout the first half of tour and mostly avoided the type 2 explorations we had come to take for granted.

As the tour progressed, the bliss jamming from last year was replaced with darker, more compact jams. By Lockn, they reminded me of the kind of wall of sound shoe gazing bands like Ride used to play with screaming Trey leads over the top. A new sound was coming into its own just in time for everybody's favorite Labor Day fantasy land.

After Friday night's swinging show and Saturday night's two second sets, we all knew we were witnessing the first 3 show Dick's blow out since 2012. Weekapaug brought the ompf first for me. The overly dramatic guy in front of us throwing bows in the cramped part of the floor near us had moved forward and the band had sufficiently warmed up for the evening. It was indeed Party Time. Gin brought the high octane romp that we now come to expect in the tub, with echoes of the spectacular version from a week ago. Melt, Tube and Zero kept things going, but for me, the real $ is in the second set.

We moved off the floor to the stands right in front of the Phellowship table to make use of the open views and immense amount of dance space. What followed was by far the best set of Phish for me since Magnaball. The new sound seemed fully formed and the band jammed with purpose, direction and patience. There wasn't a fleeting moment the entire time. Superlatives, superlatives, fire, steam and drums (so worthy of the separate track delineation), we were flabbergasted. There were hints of Catapult, Manteca, No Man's Land, Crossroads and the more obvious and intentional returns to Crosseyed, but it was the level of power and engagement that impressed me the most. By the transition into Light, i said, this is the show of the year with absolute certainty that the momentum was going to continue until the house lights came back up. The delicate Light jam was so beautiful and juxtaposed perfectly against the rest of the set. Lizards provided and opportunity to see the exhausted joy radiate from the entire crowd. What a perfect progression to the set list!! First Tube raged so much longer than usual and summoned even the most comatose of us back into movement.

This second set was an all timer for me, bringing an abundance of inventiveness, power and unique creativity. This was the culminating experience of my tour and the band once again far exceeded any of my expectations. I hope you had anywhere near the level of fun we did! Safe travels and thank you to the band, crew and phamily that have made Dick's 2016 truly a one of a kind experience!

Set 1: The weakest of the three first sets, but all three first sets are above the line of quality for a typical modern era first set, so there's nothing wrong with that. Wingsuit is its typical fiery self, Gin reaches the same boulder-rolling-down-a-hill propulsive quality of the last couple of Type I Gins, and Tube continues its Chula Vista-led renaissance with another powerful piece of dark funkiness amidships. Good stuff to start off.

Set 2: *cracks knuckles*

- Crosseyed and Painless makes for a remarkable bookend to the oceans-deep groove of the 1/17/16 version, with even the regular Type I jam full of burbling fire, until Trey makes the move to major key and the band heads into the same kind of upbeat hose that 2015 made into a specialty. But, just as quickly, they shift to a more relaxed zone, with Mike flipping on an effect and Fish incorporating the cowbell into the mix as Page heads to electric piano land and Trey playing some warm 70s style notes. Fish switches the beat up and they REALLY go 70s jam style, as Trey really cranks into his soloing and the band heads for a superb peak (goodness me, all four of them are just on fire in this segment). Mike gets his chance to fire off the meatball as the jam goes out in a blaze of glory, and we go into...

- Steam, and while this isn't quite 12/28/12's version, a) it's very well placed, b) it includes some absolutely ferocious soloing between verses, and c) Trey plays some really beautiful notes at the end of this version, making it stand out quite a bit from the pack. Trey then latches onto a familiar riff, and after some buildup we get a genuine segue into...

- Piper, which incorporates an Xeyed tease in the usual jam, then seems to be dying away after a high-octane regular Piper jam, but Fish decides that he can see the fabled 4.6 on the horizon, so he keeps the jam alive and Trey decides to move over to Marimba Lumina and we get a *fiery* percussion-driven jam (I know some of you all, including one or two rather, um, *assertive* reviewers on this page, are over these sorts of jams, but when they play these sorts of jams with THIS much energy, they are real hard to hate IMO). Both Mike and Page decide to head on over as Fish really goes Incredible Hulk on his kit, and we get a true Drums segment, with the three other band members riding shotgun to Fish having one of his truly great moments in the sun (seriously, he's absolutely KILLING IT during this segment; it's proof positive that our favorite band's got one hell of a player on the sticks). And after they get that out of their system, they head into an utterly gigantic Jam segment, growling and nasty and replete with more Xeyed teases (it actually sounds a bit like the famous Dear Mr. Fantasy segment of the 7/31/13 Tweezer), and that leads into...

- Light, and this Light just roams all over the map in glorious fashion, dying away into beautiful proto-ambiance (love what Mike is doing here), rebuilding into a more relaxed take on the usual Light jam before pushing back to the usual powerful jamming we expect from Light, giving us YET MORE Xeyed teases in the middle of some absolutely blistering hose (it's about here that you can surmise that all those teases are a reference to the lack of a setlist gimmick for this run), then collapses into a really cool little Trey riff as the jam dies away (it reminds me a bit of the end of Oasis song D'You Know What I Mean? - thank goodness I figured it out, or else it would STILL be driving me crazy), from which emerges with a perfect grace...

- The Lizards, and it's not the tightest version of The Lizards, but who really cares *that much* at this point? And, to bring the proceedings to a massive close, the band goes with...

- First Tube, with the now-expected Xeyed teases squeezed in there. Walls makes for a great finale to a wonderful run.

Final thoughts: my favorite show of the run, but that doesn't matter that much - this is a pantheon show for the modern era, one that we'll be talking about for a very long time hence. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I do.

IT is that moment when the world wells up inside us and bursts through in all its potential and happening. Past and future are obliterated—the moment is charged and alive, and we are enthralled. IT is happening, and there is no place we’d rather be than present. IT is a feeling we often both chase and numb with drugs. Phish is blessed to offer us a preponderance of IT; nowhere else is IT available with such frequency, community, and joy.

Each night at Dicks we got genuine IT moments. For me, the first occurrence happened almost immediately. Second song: No Men in No Man’s Land, about 11 minutes in, when Trey starts screeching out a dizzying array of distorted squeals to bring us to climax. The moment was pure momentum, pure heightened awareness, pure presence, and pure artistry.

The second night, to feel the IT maybe required the dedication of a true phan—the knowledge of the band’s history that you carry with you into each listening and experiencing. When Page departed the stage, leaving Mike to finish Squirming Coil was an IT. You could only be present with Mike, basking in his performance, proud to bear witness.

The third night was nearly all IT. They were juggernauts, behemoths of potential and power. They were masters of the moment, bestowing gold not just to all they touched, but to time itself, the fabric of space-time fully awoke. The refrain of “Still Waiting” was an ironic ode to their present achievement. The contagion of IT was felt a thousandfold as the crowd chanted “Still Waiting” before the encore. The wait was over. IT had been happening.

I should listen to this one again before posting but oh well. This was probably one of the better sets I have ever seen them play: set two of course.
I've long been one of those cunts who swears the band's best shows were clustered around a four year period: 95-98.
I still think that but if they can pull of more sets like this I will have to reconsider.
Lizards was the "catch your breath" song in the set. Fucking Lizards! And the Steam jam (this is from memory mind you) converted me into a big fan of a song I used to not really like. That's always cool when that happens right?
Thanks again Phish for a great run and a particularly wonderful closing set!!!

Standard start. Mike's and Wingsuit were really solid. The show really started from Weekapaug on.

Gin was phenomenal.
Melt had more direction than usual.
Tube was awesome.
Zero had a little extra mustard.

Really, really, really good set. Maybe a second jam in Mike's or better start away from reaching another level and being great.

Second set is far and away the best set I've seen or heard from this band since they returned. That includes Magnaball, Dick's 12, Halloween weekends, etc. It's great.

Crosseyed is a legendary jam. Steam was great. Piper and Light are both monsters. The Lizards was nearly nailed and First Tube may have been the best version of the song I've heard. Walls was killer as well in the encore spot.

Chompers all over the place.

Everyone in attendance got treated to an all-time show, one which would be great in any era, any year.

I cherry pick my Phish. I've got no time, nor patience for filler. I'm down to the Gorge, Dick's and Telluride if/when it happens. I was a 15 year old third-former at my first show, a half sold Grateful Dead at New Haven Coliseum. I was in Hartford Coliseum , as was Trey, when he discovered his calling. By the time Brent dies in '89, I've been living in Burlington, going to Nectars and the Front, for a couple years. Bernie Sanders is the Socialist Mayor. I left my first love , The good ol' Grateful Dead for my new infatuation, Phish. I'm the merciless asshole who pronounces to all within ear shot that "No one likes Number Line as much as Trey does". I'm mystified by Trey's descent into normalcy by trying to write a pop hit after leading me down this path with Zappa like quirky, funny shenanigans and weirdness. No new ground since Dick's '12 is a long time. So imagine how funny/ironic it is to me in my euphoric, sweaty, dance stupor to be singing my current favorite Phish song's refrain, "STILL WAITING !!!" (Phish OWNS CE&P) while my dream is coming true!!! MY FAVORITE BAND DOESN"T SUCK !!! Life is good.
See you next year !

So, I write this in reflection of the entire weekend.... there really is no way to explain being part of the Dick's experience live. My first rodeo was with my 1 yr old in 2012 and she danced her ass off... my most recent was with my now 5 yr old and she danced her ass off albeit only for the first night. We got babysitters for nights 2 and 3. Regardless of the semantics, I would like to just say thank you to everyone that showed up. It is a nonstop parking lot party that turns into a huge bowl of fans with Phish rocking faces for 3 hours every night. This was a 3 night throw down.... but don't believe me for saying it... just youtube it!

First sets included all kinds of goodies, but I had a rare moment of clarity/ownership when they busted out Wingsuit in the middle of Mikes Groove. At first I thought everything was falling apart until I realized they were giving us our brief moment of reprieve before showing us how much they love rocking (swinging) dicks... Weekapaug was standard goodness but the perfect way to make a statement that they would not be giving much in the way of breaks...... May as well just enjoy a clean Weekapaug? No! May as well get torn apart by Split Open and Melt! Just listen, why explain? Because you need to listen...

Tube was great again, and Char 0 was great news as the last time they rocked Dicks this hard was finished by a good but lackluster encore of Char 0 in 2012...

Now to try and explain the energy of the second set is pretty useless.... Is there a better way... What's the Use? There are Youtube vids online? I feel the connection from the crowd and band and couch tourers was better than I have seen... maybe it has been better, but rest assured, if you were in the house for the second set, there was never a better set. If you have watched some of the 2015 summer connections you have seen it.... Magnaball was insane! This was Insane.. Gorge 2016 night 1 set 2 was insane! There are moments of temporary insanity that can only be experienced and not explained, and this was one of them. Just Party Time expounded to the second set in the form of a crowd of people still waiting to come back to earth.. I still am!

I saw 8 shows this Summer, starting in Wrigley then SPAC, Syracuse and the Gorge, but have listened to everything intensely and hear are my thoughts on the Summer in general...

I think the band is playing fantastic. Considering that they had written new songs and are basically playing everything from their catalogue it is amazing that they can play so many tunes so well and remember all the words!

Having said that, I agree with many posters here (and notably Mr. Minor's somewhat scathing critique) that there weren't enough jams in the main summer tour and too many ballads, especially in the second set.

So be it. That's what Trey was into and they (he) needed to get that out of his system which he apparently has considering the band didn't play a single ballad in any of the five second sets starting with Lockn'.

I remember back in the nineties the Grateful Dead would do the same thing, play all the new less known and inspiring songs whether we the audience cared for it or not. Think: Corrina, Days Between, Lazy River Road, I Fought the Law, etc.

That's part of the creative process for any band.

However, the Summer tour that I witnessed or heard on tape had some seriously great sets. Wrigley night two is a monster with the Carini-Tweezer-Fluffhead-Piper-Steam I'd say the first 40 minutes holds up against any 40 minutes of 3.0

Spac1 was also fantastic the Carini-Chalkdust is otheworldly...

And of course, Night 1 of the Gorge and second night San Fran.

The second San Fran show basically had this poster's dream second set that was played to perfection and I would rate it as the best set of 2016. The second set of Gorge 1 is also primetime listening.

While the Phish community is currently still high from the closing set on Sunday at Dick's (and for good reason) consider that at the Gorge the Band took the Crosseyed theme ALONG with No Man's and What's the Use and wove all three songs throughout the set back and forth. An incredible performance which then followed with a big three song encore. I am curious to know from people who were at both which set they got more from....of course, they are both stellar and must listening.

Overall, though 2016 may not have had to punch to it that the magnificent 2015 had the band is still firing on all cylinders and sounds both tight and loose and together. They are mixing around song placements and keeping the lists fresh and I very much look forward to the rest of 2016 and beyond.

I was on couch tour for this show and it was easily the most attention demanding couch tour experience I've seen from Phish. While the first set started off with fantastic song selection, I found myself watching the college football game on TV with the stream replacing the audio commentary. However, when Weekapaug got going it was back to Phish. Party Time had an unusually awesome groove to it and Gin through Tube is some awesome Phish.

Set 2 had me sucked in the entire time with huge jams in Crosseyed, Piper, and Light. The Drums portion made couch touring worth it by being able to see how each band member contributed to the ritual drumming. The Lizards was a nice treat and the First Tube had to be my favorite version of that song with more Crosseyed teases. Overall, this is one of the best shows they've played since I started following this band in 2012. Still waiting on Fall Tour!

I was unable to attend, but caught the weekend's webcast. Friday and Saturday each had their moments, but Sunday's show was on a completely different level. I agree that this was unequivocally the best show since at least Magna Ball. The crowd was great, and there's no question the band fed off that energy.

After a tepid start, from the end of Wingsuit to the closing notes of Zero, the first set was fantastic. The guys were dialed in. Party Time hit me in a way it never has before, and the Gin was hot fire.

Second set was A-plus phish. The opening Crosseyed and Painless was my personal highlight of the night; just a ripping jam. I can't articulate how on point the playing was during the set, but I was glued to my screen through the end of WOTC. What a terrific send-off to an uneven summer, and hopefully a sign of what's to come this fall. Thank you, Phish.

This second set has become an instant classic in my mind. it's easily the best phish I've seen or heard post 2000. Thanks again you brilliant bastards! I keep thinking you're over the hill and you keep showing me those are false summits

I'm still waiting for my first post 1.0 yem at Dick's.
Maybe next year!

I love this 2nd set. Last night's was great as well but this set is amazing. Good first set with a great Gin. I know Steam really isn't(only) about the Dark Tower but I love that series and having it intertwined with the music of Phish is almost too much for me to handle. Hahahaha. The whole set is filled with tunes I adore. First Tube rave up to close with a Walls encore. I'll take that every day of the week. Did I forget to mention Steam ??? Crosseyed left me just that. Great Show.

What can I say about this show that hasn't already been said? Well, Moma was perhaps the least surprising opener of the run, but it kicks things off in a nice funky fashion. The first highlight of the night comes in the form of a largely overlooked Gin. Its jam begins slowly, but patiently builds steam until about 8 minutes in when Page goes in on the grand and Fish bangs mercilessly on the cymbals. Trey seizes upon this energy to screech and soar his way to a monstrous peak just before the 13-minute mark. Echoes of this tone can be heard later in the night during Light. Fans of the 7/10/99 Chalk Dust need to give this Gin a listen.

Then, after a solid Melt comes the next highlight: an amazingly funky Tube! Thick and drawn-out, this version is cousin to the Chula Vista version from earlier in the summer.

Now onto the meat and potatoes! Crosseyed wastes no time starting off with some strong melodic noodling from Trey. The band locks into a steady, but high energy Type I groove as Trey and Page chug along the melody before the jam begins to settle. Then Mike starts lobbing space meatballs and Trey riffs beautifully over his bassline before all four ultimately coast into a well-deserved peak 15 minutes in. Trey's playing is so relaxed he makes this massive peak sound easy, and I'm reminded of the Magna Caspian.

The Crosseyed tease-fest begins when Steam emerges from the jam's murky aftermath. Again, Trey effortlessly shreds in between verses and after the chorus, leading to a segue into Piper. Following the song proper comes a quick, but spirited Crosseyed tease, then a brief but airtight '70s detective-esque groove. I closed my eyes for a moment, and when I opened them again the whole band was on Fishman's kit. As groan-inducing as these jams could be in the summer of '16, this one is mega psychedelic and actually feels like a real Dead Drums jam! The first 45 minutes or so of this set are nothing short of phenomenal and it becomes clear to everyone that this is one of those shows.

Light follows and begins with a stripped-down, delicate exploration led by Mike and Trey, saving a Crosseyed tease for its second half. Then comes Lizards, a song I feel like the band plays when they've earned it after a great show. This one's a quality version, though it puts a pause on the Crosseyed teases. A tease-laden First Tube does a good job to end the set and remind everybody how much fun the weekend was. Walls of the Cave is an unusual choice for an encore, but nobody complained when the band chose it for its victory lap.

A legitimate contender for best show of 3.0, this one is a must-hear for all fans.

WHOA! This was the Sunday night that we had all hoped for. Similar second set theme as Gorge 1, with better execution. The end of Crosseyed was so good and so huge that my brain nearly exploded. You had to catch your breath going into steam.

Piper jam out of the drums is really solid too. Reminds me of the Light jam from 12 or maybe undermind jam from 2012. Either way, really good stuff. Been to Dicks 11,12,13,14, and 16, and this was very close to being my favorite top to bottom. Time will tell.

Review
by
Anonymous

A good but not great end to the semi lackluster show. It got quite the hype for the lack of variety of the jams. Crosseyed theme is cool but let's not forget the boys had literally just performed a very similar show at the Gorge prior to this. This show is a solid listen and I recommend but I unfortunately think it is slightly overrated and not one of their ALL TIME best as it is listed as of now...

Review
by
Anonymous

A good but not great end to the semi lackluster show. It got quite the hype for the lack of variety of the jams. Crosseyed theme is cool but let's not forget the boys had literally just performed a very similar show at the Gorge prior to this. This show is a solid listen and I recommend but I unfortunately think it is slightly overrated and not one of their ALL TIME best as it is listed as of now...

Nothing much to say... except for the Gin. After some dicking about, Trey finally gets a groove going as Fishman speeds up the tempo and over Page's piano, Trey begins building up, after which Fish goes over to the ride cymbal, giving it a bit more zest. After another bit of tension, Trey properly peaked while Fish and Page rhythmically backed him up while he shredded before heading back into the Gin theme. Zero closed out the first set.

Set II:

Crosseyed immediately sends the crowd into a dancing frenzy, riding the groove for the initial jam section. Trey then happens upon a nice little quote at about 10 minutes or so in, which he noodles on before Page and Fish, who respectively move over to the Lil' Pumpkin and tone down the volume accordingly, make a beautiful and mellow soundscape which Trey quietly solos over before Fish slows down the tempo. Trey noodles for a bit again, before, with Page backing him on the grand, he begins to solo with incredible results, at first quietly, but then he builds it up to glorious proportions. Page moves over to the organ lifting it all to the heavens before bringing it down and up into heaven again, complete with Mike dropping nuclear bombs. The jam then fades out into space, and Trey >'s into Steam.

Steam, had a quick Crosseyed tease at the start of it's jam, starting a trend of them throughout the rest of the night. The jam never really went anywhere, riding a fairly lackluster groove and everyone seemingly waiting for someone else to make a move for it's duration before Trey cut the bullshit and started up Piper. Page drove this jam with some great piano work, before Trey got some soaring soloing going, before quickly peaking with Page backing him up on the organ. OK, time for a quick complaint.

Page is really over using the fucking organ during peaks. Like basically every peak. It's getting very old very fast, so much so that I groan every time he uses it in a merely good or OK, jam like this one. The jam is good, but nothing special. Tons of jams are obviously like this, and when Page goes blasting some big power chord on his Hammond every time one reaches a fairly pedestrian peak, it gets on my damn nerves. This peak was good though, and the remainder jam is pretty good as well, but GODDAMIT TREY, DO NOT GET ON THE LUMINA.

Of course, he does, as do the rest of the band. The lack of this nonsense in the past few shows has not lessened my hatred for this musically vaporous waste of time. Anyway, before too long, the band returns to their instruments, does another brief peak-y jam, while shouting STIIIIIL WAITING. Despite the relative annoyances that preceded it, this was still pretty funny and seeing the band having fun in ways other than crowding around a drum kit for ten straight minutes was refreshing, if even reinvigorating.

Light emerged from the very much charred remains of the Piper jam, and hearing those opening chords was such a relief and change of pace. The jam quickly faded into near-quiet territory. Trey's delay-soaked arpreggiated playing, Mike's midrange alongside it and Page's twinkling piano work quickly took charge. Mike slowly rose the jam from near silence into more rhythmic territory before Trey's soloing brought everything back to normal volume.

He then went for a peak, which he got to, complete with Page spamming the organ for the 9000th time of course, with a Crosseyed quote for good measure. The Lizards, one of my favorite Phish songs was next. Nothing much to say, except an awesome song and a good version. First Tube provided an energetic end to the set.

The band came out to a We Love Dick's chant (of course), and Trey asked the crowd to applause for the crew before Walls of the Cave closed things out.

OVERALL:
A fine show, with two excellent jams amidst it's oeuvre. It has it's moments of ecstasy and frustration, but overall it's good and worth a listen. I'd probably call it the second best show of this run, and in terms of the Crosseyed jam alone, it wins out in the jam category. That said, the samey-ness of some of the jams and some of the playing in said jams (COUGH COUGH PAGE AND THE ORGAN) is an impediment and a bit of a stumbling block for me, as is the return of the Marimba clusterfuck, but if you can get past that, you'll find a show that flows well and ensures a good time for all.

Donate to Mockingbird

Contact Us

The Mockingbird Foundation

The Mockingbird Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by Phish fans in 1996 to generate charitable proceeds from the Phish community.

And since we're entirely volunteer – with no office, salaries, or paid staff – administrative costs are less than 2% of revenues! So far, we've distributed over $1,000,000 to support music education for children – hundreds of grants in all 50 states, with more on the way.